Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading.
Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect! Obviously, this year, events may look a little different. But, there are still ways to celebrate.
Starting Monday, May 4, 2020, and through Sunday, May 10th, I’ll be sharing a children’s book here to encourage a love of reading. If you’d like to print off some activity pages related to Children’s Book Week, click HERE. For more information and resources related to Children’s Book Week, click HERE.
THE BIG BOOK OF BLING
Ritzy Rocks, Extravagant Animals, Sparkling Science, and More!
By: Rose Davidson
Published: September 3, 2019
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books
Non-Fiction
“Bling” is such a fun word to say. It’s considered an ideophone because it conjures up the idea of a sound when you say it…”Bling“. This book covers all things shiny, sparkly, colorful, and expensive. From animals to jewels to gold to the tops of all splurges, there is plenty of “bling” to talk about here.
I was mostly intrigued by the Extravagant Animals chapter so I went to that first. I doubt I will see most of these animals mentioned in my lifetime, but they are certainly amazing to learn about. There are some crazy looking animals and insects out there in our world. The planthopper nymph actually looks like it has fireworks as its tail. They use it to dazzle and distract their predators. There is a cobalt blue tarantula in Myanmar and Thailand. It gets its blue tint from nanocrystals in its body, but scientists are not sure what its benefits are from being blue. I loved the pages about brilliant birds. I had learned previously in a book titled, THE GENIUS OF BIRDS about the male bowerbirds that create shrines of sparkly and colorful objects to woo the females to them. I’m always fascinated by the unique things that animals do that are similar to human behavior.
I loved looking at the photographs of the amazing sparkling caves. Since I don’t like being in caves or dark enclosed spaces, I probably will never see them in person, but they are quite impressive. The one in the US is called the Golden Dome Cave in Lava Beds National Monument in Tulelake, California. Bacteria and water droplets form to make the cave look as though it is coated in glistening gold wallpaper. Other jaw-droppingly colorful places include the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It is an amazing thing to see on the page but even more so in person. I’m so thankful we took our kids there a few years ago. Add that to your Bucket List! I would love to see the Rainbow Mountains in Gansu, China, but I’ll probably have to be satisfied with the photo. But, maybe someday, I can get to the lavender fields in Provence, France, or to Lake Hillier in Australia to see the pink lake.
I absolutely love these types of books from National Geographic. The information is concise, the photographs are amazing, and I ALWAYS learn something new. This is a book that a child can look at for days and continue to learn and be fascinated by the wonders in our world. Something I always look forward to seeing every summer that is sparkly is a hummingbird. I have my feeder all ready! Keep an eye out for all the blingy things in your world!
To purchase a copy of THE BIG BOOK OF BLING, click the photo below:
